Dilshan and Jayawardena reprimanded for excessive appealing

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardena have been officially reprimanded after pleading guilty to a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 match against New Zealand in Cardiff on Sunday (June 9).

Dilshan and Jayawardena were found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "excessive appealing during an international match".

The charges was laid by the on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker, as well as third umpire Ian Gould and fourth umpire Steve Davis, all from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

Dilshan and Jayawardena were charged for excessive and prolonged appealing in a keenly-contested match that New Zealand won by one-wicket.

Both players pleaded guilty to the charge and as such, under the provisions of the code, the matter was determined by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and so there was no requirement for a full hearing.

Mr Pycroft later said: "Irrespective of the outcome of an umpire's decision, players are not entitled to prolonged appeals as this can be construed as pressuring the umpires. Both the players accepted their mistake and apologised for their actions."

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee.

The International Cricket Council made it clear that it had nothing to do with the absence of former Indian captain Ravi Shastri from the panel of commentators for last month's ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Former skipper, Sunil Gavaskar and other ex-cricketers on Tuesday said in unison that one should refrain from drawing comparisons between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his predecessors, insisting instead to rejoice India's success in the ICC Champions Trophy.